World Trade Centers Association

The World Trade Centers Association (WTCA) was founded in 1970[1] by Port Authority NYNJ executive Guy F. Tozzoli.[2][3] WTCA is a not-for-profit, non-political association dedicated to the establishment and operation of World Trade Centers (WTCs) as instruments for international trade expansion.[4]

See also: List of World Trade Centers
World Trade Center in Tallinn

As of May 2020, the WTCA included 323 properties licensed in 90 countries and staffed by "15,000 WTC professionals".[5][6] The WTCA is an unofficial umbrella trade association that unites corporations and government agencies in international trade.[7]

Licensing fees

In 2013, it was disclosed that the Association benefited substantially from its use of the "World Trade Center" name after the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey transferred to the Association in 1986 its local rights to the name for a token fee of $10. By licensing the use of the name to its members, including World Trade Center-branded merchandise, the Association generated considerable revenues while absorbing the heavy costs of registering the name and defending it against improper use in many countries.

The terms of the licensing arrangement were not widely publicized until 2013 when it became known that the Port Authority had supported the mission of the Association by providing rent-free office space and other help, with Association staff serving as the trade assistance arm of the World Trade Center. In December 2018, Judge Swain in federal court in New York held that the wording of the 1986 assignment to the World Trade Centers Association[8] did not include trademark rights for WORLD TRADE CENTER (such as for souvenir items bearing that mark). The WTCA received only ownership of the mark for services, such as for licensing to entities around the world.[9]

Principles and governance

The WTCA's founding principles are:

  • To encourage the expansion of world trade;
  • To promote international business relationships and understanding among nations;
  • To foster increased participation in world trade by industrializing nations;
  • To create and encourage mutual assistance and cooperation among members; and
  • To promote and further the concept of the World Trade Center.

The WTCA is governed by a 24-member international Board of Directors, composed of executives from WTCA members around the world, and elected by the membership. Eight permanent committees have been established to carry on the work of the Association in the following fields:

In December 2008, the WTCA awarded its first Global Corporate Leadership award to Robert Thompson, the founder of CenTradeX of Nashville, Tennessee.[3]

References
  1. Marshall, Keith (6 August 2013). "Retracing the roots of the World Trade Center". New Orleans Times-Picayune. Archived from the original on 10 August 2013.
  2. "Guy Tozzoli | American Experience | PBS". www.pbs.org. WGBH. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  3. "Global Corporate Leadership Award" (Google Docs). New York, NY. 12 December 2008. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  4. Pujol, Rolando (10 September 2008). "World Trade Center's Guy Tozzoli keeps center's spirit alive". www.paranynj.org. New York, NY: Port Authority Retirees Association, Inc. amNewYork. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  5. "World Trade Centers Association". www.wtca.org. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  6. Gomez-Mejia et al. 2007:539
  7. Foxman, Simone (10 September 2013). "The puzzling non-profit behind the "World Trade Center" name makes a surprising amount of money". Quartz. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  8. Levin, Jay (9 February 2013). "Obituary: Guy Tozzoli / Oversaw Twin Towers creation, watched them collapse on 9/11". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Hackensack, NJ. Retrieved 21 November 2021. He maintained his office at the World Trade Center and continued to do so after he retired from the Port Authority in 1986 and shifted to the full-time presidency of the World Trade Centers Association, an organization he founded in 1970.
  9. Boburg, Shawn (8 September 2013). "Port Authority sold rights to World Trade Center name for $10 in 1986 - NorthJersey.com". NorthJersey.com. Archived from the original on 2013-09-10.

Bibliography
  • Gomez-Mejia, Luis; Balkin, David; Cardy, Robert (2007), Managing Human Resources, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, ISBN 0-13-187067-X
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